Ava Horwood is worried people at LCCVI and in the Petrolia area aren’t doing enough to help the environment.

She hopes a new community garden near the Central Lambton Family Health Team building will help them to think about what they can do.

Horwood, a Grade 11 student at LCCVI, says she was bothered by the amount of garbage she would see on the streets of Petrolia as she walked downtown. She worries the high school doesn’t have a recycling program. So, in April, she started the environmental club called Earth Heroes. Twenty other students joined in.

With the help of $500 grants from the Petrolia Lions, Optimists and Kiwanis Clubs, Earth Heroes decided a community garden would be a good way to raise awareness about the club and what people can do to help the environment.

Each of the plants in the garden in front of the playground has a specific purpose, including plants for pollinators such as bees. The Earth Heroes were putting the final touches on the garden Monday afternoon.

Horwood says this is only the beginning. Earth Heroes hopes to work with the school to create an outdoor classroom next year.